Quake
by ShadowWalkerZA
Summary: An Earthquake hits an "indestructable" New Gotham, and an old Foe escapes from the Assylum. Completed
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1 - Ordinary Day  
  
Harry leaned back against his chair and rubbed his eyes. He'd been working all morning on a report due the next day and he was nowhere than he was when he started. The boy from the mail room knocked softly on his door and then walked in, handing him his mail. "Thanks," Harry mumbled and then sifted through the envelopes. Bills, bills, bills they were all bills, except for a pink piece of paper folded neatly behind the pack. He threw the bills on his desk and unfolded the piece of paper, it was an office note, "All employees please take note, the waterworks for the 5th and 6th floors will be turned off from Monday the 25th to Wednesday the 27th, due to maintenance. Employees on those floors are advised to please use the toilets on the 7th or 4th floors. Signed general maintenance." "Hmpf, they're only a day late," He said to himself, crumpling the paper into a ball and threw it towards the paper basket, missing.  
  
At that moment his door opened and a short scrawny man, with short dark red hair, wearing black rimmed glasses and a tie too small for his baggy shirt, walked hurriedly in. "Dexter!" Harry exclaimed throwing his hands into the air. "You know very well my name is Lionel, Harry," Lionel replies and dumps a long piece of paper, which had been trailing in the air behind him, on Harry's desk. "To what do I owe this honor?" Harry asks smirking as he stands up. "The scales have recorded two minor tremors in New Gotham, each one registering .95 on the Richter scale. Now normally this wouldn't even warrant a rise of an eyebrow if the second were hours apart, but it wasn't it was recorded an hour after the first," Lionel replied pointing to a seismic graph and then looking up at Harry. Harry had his arms folded, and was leaning against his desk listening to Lionel. He leveled his gaze with Lionel and said, "Your mother give you decaf this morning?" Lionel pushed his glasses up and glared at Harry, "No orange juice, what's your point?" "New Gotham is built on tectonically engineered plates, Lionel. First of all, they wouldn't have even felt those tremors and if these tremors were in fact warning signs of an earthquake, don't get you gonads in a knot, those plates can withhold a quake of up to 8 on the scale," He replied. Lionel stood up straight, "and I guess the fact that old Gotham was destroyed by a quake measuring 10.3 must have, just slipped you mind?" "The chances of that ever happening again are a million to one, c'mon Lionel, you're getting worked up over nothing, be a good boy, go eat your sandwiches your mom made for you ok?" Lionel glares at Harry once more, then picks up the papers and walks out, closing the door behind him. Harry waves Lionel off and plops into his chair, looking up at his screen he stares at the words written on the screen, "Controlling Acts of God - Earthquakes."  
  
***  
  
A moment afterwards, a tall and black form, which from the distance some belated passer might have taken for a phantom, appeared standing on the parapet, bent towards the Seine, then sprang up, and fell straight into the darkness; there was a dull splash; and the shadow alone was in the secret of the convulsion of that obscure form which had disappeared under the water.  
  
Barbara sighed as she closed the book she had been reading and looked up. Her students were hunched over their desks either writing or biting on the back of their pens. Apart from the occasional sound of rustled paper and rummaging in pencil bags the classroom was quiet. It was times like these that allowed Barbara to reflect or relax. Today she had chosen to catch up on her reading, leisurely that is. It had been a long time since she had the opportunity to read a magazine, let alone a book. She looked down at the cover of the book, the letters colored in red, white and blue stared back at her. 'Les Misérables' was a Christmas gift from Alfred, "I do sincerely hope you 'take a hint' Miss Barbara," was what he said when he revealed the package, wrapped in silver wrapping and tied with gold lace, from behind his back.  
  
Barbara's smiled broadened. Alfred had been constantly insisting that she take moments for herself and relax, "You have 3 young women who are capable of protecting the city on their own once in a while." He's always looking after not only her, but Helena, Dinah and Cris as well. Barbara shook her head slightly and then removed her glass and placed them down on the table.  
  
***  
  
Two men amble slowly along in a small underground tunnel. The one, Steadman, is wearing a blue overall with the top unbuttoned; exposing his greasy white t-shirt which barley fits over his beer belly. The other, Jules, is dressed in a white shirt, with a brown waistcoat over it and a black jacket over it, he's also wearing comfortable brown trousers and scuffed fancy shoes. Both are sporting white hard hats.  
  
"What do you mean a crack?!" Jules asks as he feebly steps over some litter on the ground. "I dunno, a crack, you know where the wall starts splitting," Steadman replied. "That's impossible, this tunnel is not even a couple of years old," Jules mumbled as they reached the door. Steadman fumbles for some keys and then places the right one into the lock; he unlocks the door and then opens it. They are greeted by loud hooting and odd shouting here and there. Jules looks at the traffic jam slowly moving by through the underground tunnel. He then turns to Steadman and sees he's already walked off along a foot path on the side of the tunnel. He jogs up to Steadman and shouts over the noise, "If in fact it is serious, and we have to shut this tunnel down, do you know what kind of chaos there will be?" Steadman chuckles, "Yeah, big shit." They walk a little more and then Steadman stops. He points up at the ceiling. Jules follows his direction and then whistles softly. 


	2. Unrest

Chapter 2 - Unrest  
  
Cris slowly pulls the car forward and stops. She sighs as she leans her elbow on the arm rest and rests her chin on her free hand. She hated traffic jams; her feet always started cramping after a while. She looked in her review mirror and saw red lights flashing in the distance and slowly growing closer. It was an ambulance bypassing the traffic via the emergency lane. Cris turned the music blaring from her radio down and finally head the siren. As it sped by her, the man behind her in a classic jaguar entered the emergency lane.  
  
"Impatient idiot," Cris thought as she watched him speed up. She shook her head, pulled up a little more as the traffic moved. At least she was in the tunnel now, being stuck in traffic in the blazing sun wasn't fun. She looked at both her arms and realized she had gotten a little sunburned. Just then she heard two men shout over the noise of the sirens and the hooting, ".you have..headquarters. We need to fix...crack pronto!" She watched as two men walked on the side path of the tunnel and then disappear past and open door.  
  
She raised and eyebrow wandering what the one meant by crack. She shook her head and then turned the volume up, drumming her fingers to the beat.  
  
She'd be by the high school right now if it wasn't for Barbara signing her up for a conference in New York. Barbara knew she hated teachers conferences; she detested them with a passion. Barbara was probably getting her back after she had made a comment one night during patrols that Barbara had too deep an affair with her computers, thus ensuing in an hour debate that had Dinah in stitches and Helena switching her comms off.  
  
The conference had taken 2 days, 2 days of pure, boring hell. Cris couldn't wait to climb back into her car and drive back to New Gotham. She missed Matthew, even though it were only 2 days, she almost pined for him. A thought crept through her mind, and she was just about to dial a no. on her cell, when it rang.  
  
She answered the phone.  
  
***  
  
Tracy paced back and forth in unison with Nala the lion. Her head was buried deep in a frown and she chewed nervously on her thumb nail.  
  
"Tracy!" someone called-out. She looked up to see a man running towards her. "Jonathan! What took you so long?!" she said frustratedly as he came closer. "Sorry, but the whole place is restless, the chimps are going nuts in their cages, Bill the gorilla keeps running up and down beating on the bars and the birds are flying about madly! And can you hear the wolves?" he asked as he tried to catch his breath. Tracy paused and lifted her head in the air, sure enough amongst the other noises she would hear the lonely howls of the wolves. Something wasn't right, the animals never acted like this!  
  
She turned to him, "You have any idea what's going on?" He shook his head, "None whatsoever!" She threw her hands up in frustration, "Ok! Have you ever seen anything like this before? Maybe when you spent some tine in Africa?" He seemed deep in thought and then lifted his head, "Only time I seen animals as frantic as this, was when they were running away from a fire, other than that, no." "Well I don't see a fire anywhere Jonathan, so it isn't helping!" Tracy snapped, the noises were beginning to annoy her. "Oh for pete's sake Tracy, I'm trying the best I can!! All I can think of is that they're sensing something, but I don't know what?!" Jonathan shouted back.  
  
Just them Nala suddenly shook her head a let out a bone chilling roar, it resonated deep from her belly. Tracy could feel her bones rattle and chill run down her back, it was the first time since she began working with lions she had ever heard such a roar, and it frightened her.  
  
***  
  
Helena smiled as another customer approached her. "Hi, what can I get you?" she asked, placing the cloth she had been using to wipe the top counter, behind the counter. "Johnnie Walker on the rocks please, oh and make it a double," the man replied bothersomely and took a seat. Helena nodded and reached for a tumbler. Spotting the bottle, she reached out and grabbed it. Expertly, she poured a double tot and then places 3 ice cubes into the glass. She put the bottle down and the slid the glass over to him. "There ya go!" She said. He smiled weakly, thanked her and took a rather huge sip. Helena frowned slightly and said, "Whoa there, you don't wanna down that too fast." She smiled sheepishly remembering the first time she drank whiskey, she ended up receiving a rather lengthy speech about the abuse of alcohol and it's side effects to her fighting skills and another lecture from Alfred about how 'unlady-like' it was for a woman to stumble in and hurl profanities at priceless head piece of some or other dead guy and asking him why he was staring at her. Needless to say, she had developed a 'allergy' to the stuff.  
  
He looked at her and said, "Well if you can answer the million dollar question I'll order the biggest meal on your menu!" Helena grinned, "Well how could I refuse business! What's your question?" He slides a newspaper to her, on it is the statue of one or other ex-mayor from old Gotham, and the headlines, "No pigeons for old Henry now." She looked up frowning. "How can a whole population of birds just disappear in one night?" he asked. 


	3. Recepie To Disaster

Chapter 3 - Recipe to disaster  
  
The tranquility was pierced by the school alarm, announcing 1st break. Barbara looked up from the book and said, "Hand you papers in as you leave." She placed the book on the table and wheeled herself around the table waiting for the students to walk by. As they filed out her classroom, she felt the hairs on her neck stand a little on end and a strange feeling trickle down her spine, she could swear she almost felt it go down her legs. It came from the direction of the door. Suddenly her heart felt as if it were beating a thousand times a second in her throat as she turned around to look into the direction of the doorway. There he stood, a little taller than Helena. He had light brown hair, and a tanned complexion. His eyes were blue like the deep ocean, they seemed to pierce right through her soul, and into the very depths of it she sometimes struggled to find herself. Emotions threatened to erupt from where she had pushed them so far down. She swallowed hard and managed a smile, "Hello, can I help you?" she said to him.  
  
His whole face lightened as he smiled, much like Wade's would, a wave of grief washed over Barbara. "Er yes, I just arrived and I thought I'd make a few rounds and introduce myself, My name is Justin, Justin Chase, I'm the new gym teacher," he replied and held out his hand. Barbara hesitated a little and then accepted his hand, shaking it slightly. His touch was soft and warm, Barbara closed her eyes and frowned. "Something the matter?" he asked, concerned. Barbara opened her eyes and looked up at him, "Er, no not really, just a slight headache," she replied smiling. The truth was she was trying to hold herself together. She still missed Wade, and would cry herself to sleep some nights, something about Justin seemed to strike a chord inside her, the same feeling she got when she first met Wade. She looked at the newspaper he was holding and saw the article about the missing pigeons. "It's the statues," Justin said, noticing. "I beg your pardon?" Barbara asked looking up. "The disappearance of the pigeons, my theory is the statues had enough of them and chased them off." Barbara laughed.  
  
"I miss a joke," came a familiar joke from her door. Barbara looked around Justin and saw Dinah standing in the doorway, smiling. "Dinah! Come in, this," she said motioning to Justin, "Is Mr. Chase, he's the new gym teacher." "Pleased to meet you," Dinah said shaking his hands. Suddenly a bright white light assaulted her vision.  
  
***  
  
Tommy was your average 300 pound truck driver. The type with rude bumper stickers, a language worse than any other, a bad sense of humor, and someone who never even heard of deodorant or bathing. He had ketchup stains on his t-shirt, which used to be white but was now greasy and dirty.  
  
New Gotham was where he was scheduled to deliver the gas he had be pulling almost across America. He had been pushing it cause he was running late, reason being was that he had spent too much time at diners having beers with his fellow truckers. He was tired, having had not much sleep and as he flew down the freeway, almost exceeding the speed limit, his eyes started drooping.  
  
The truck veered a little to the right. A woman driving next to him hooted. He shook his head startled then slapped himself, "Wakey Tommy boy, ya dun wanna kill yerself now," he said to himself.  
  
A little while later his eyes started drooping again.  
  
***  
  
Lionel chewed thoughtfully on his peanut butter sandwich his mother had made for him. His eyes stayed glued to the seismographs. He didn't agree with Harry about the tremors he had noted earlier that morning. He knew something was happening, or at least he had a strong suspicion.  
  
He tapped his pen repeatedly on the table as his mind sped through possible explanations. Were they just normal tremors? Were they somehow, yet very doubtful, aftershocks from the deep core mining off shore, way into the ocean? Was he just paranoid?  
  
He had been there when the Gotham city was hit by an earthquake which destroyed most of the city. He still dreamed about it, how much it frightened him. He sat in the doorway, cradling his fragile mother watching the world fall apart in front of him. It took the rescuers 2 days to dig them out. 48 agonizing hours, reassuring his mother and trying to reassure himself that they would be rescued. After that, he learned everything there was to learn on earthquakes; it had almost become an obsession.  
  
A crumpled piece of paper hit him on the forehead, breaking him out of his trip down memory road. "C'mon Lionel, lets get some coffee," Mark, a colleague, said chucking another piece of paper at him. Lionel looked at the graphs and sighed, "Maybe I am paranoid," he said to himself and then stood up and followed his friend out the room.  
  
***  
  
*FLASH*  
  
Helena smiles at a customer approaching her. Suddenly she felt something, something unusual, she looked around, and it was an odd feeling.  
  
*FLASH*  
  
Cris turns up the volume of her radio  
  
*FLASH*  
  
Dinah opens her eyes, startled.  
  
Back at Lionel's office, the needle of the New Gotham graph suddenly starts quivering, at first slightly, then growing in strength and length. 


	4. Quake

At first Barbara hadn't heard it, her attention was on Dinah, who seemed shaken by the brief contact she had with Mr. Chase, but it grew louder she shifted her head and looked at the window as it started rattling slightly, frowning she wheeled forward, "What the…"  
Then the ground shook. Barbara looked below her and then at Justin and Dinah.

"What's that?" Dinah asked.  
Justin looked around as everything started rattling, "It's an earthquake."  
Barbara shook her head, "It's not possible…"  
Just then the a vase fell off her desk and as the shattered pieces shot across the floor she thought to herself, "Not again…"

Helena knew something was wrong, something didn't seem right to her. She had a strong urge to run, to get away, but that wasn't her style. Then the bottles began rattling, first a little, then one fell off the shelf.  
"KYLE! What the hell is going on!" Shouted her boss as he stormed out his corner and behind the bar. He looked at the bottles then back at her, his face growing pale.  
Helena turned back at the customers and shouted, "Earthquake, everybody outside! Don't run." She helped a few staggering drunks out through the exit and ordered the other bartender to help her with the other patrons, she was just about to go out herself when she looked back at the bar. Leonard still stood dumbstruck, his mouth half open. A bottle from the top shelf fell and hit him on the head, he cried out and covered his head as more bottles started falling.

Helena vaulted over the counter and grabbed his arm, she choose the nearest corner behind the bar and took cover, pulling Leonard along with her. Slowly more and more bottles of spirits came raining down near them.

Cris drummed her fingers in tune to the music, nodding her head softly. Her eyes stared out more into infinity rather than at the car in front of her, that had been standing still for the last ten minutes. A movement near her car alerted her and she looked to her side and watched as people started getting out their cars, looking perturbed and confused. Then she felt her steering wheel begin to rattle. She frowned and turned her radio down. A deep rumbled echoed through the tunnel, shaking a little dust down upon the cars. She climbed out her car as the ground began to shake.

"I don't believe th…." She was stopped short by an odd cracking noise that intruded the rumbling. She looked up and watched in horror as a crack ran along the roof of the tunnel, "shit! Everybody out!" She shouted and started run towards the other end of the tunnel, as small pieces of the roof began falling down.

Tommy's heart beats faster as the stripper slowly danced towards him. He takes a swig of his beer and climbs onto the dance floor, crawling closer to her. As they neared each other, he reached his hand out, and woke up.

It took him a couple of seconds to realize why everyone was hooting. His truck was dangerously swerving towards the side of the bridge. Suddenly part of the bridge gave way and then disappeared, taking some cars before him with it. Stepping on breaks he swerved to avoid going down along with them.

He didn't get a chance to realize how grave a mistake he had made. The truck smashed through the barrier on the other side of the bridge and plummeted towards the ground crushing a couple of cars and a couple of people running out of the tunnel. Suddenly the tanker exploded into a huge fireball. 

Inside the tunnel Cris's eyes widened as a wave of fire raced towards her and the other people still in the tunnel. Instinct kicked in and she grabbed as much people near her and pulled them towards the access door on the side of the tunnel. She had just managed to close the door as the fury passed by. The handle of the door heated up quickly and burned her hand. Crying out she stepped back and then turned her attention back to the earthquake.

Barbara flinched as the sound of an explosion assaults her ears. Wide eyed she watches as a fireball shoots into the sky.

"Oh my…" She never got a chance to finish. The ground below her gave way, and she along with Dinah and Justin fell through the floor.

Through slitted eyes, he watched as the prison guards scrambled to secure the asylum doors. He stood calmly in the middle of his cell, waiting patiently. All he needed was for the walls to weaken, just enough for him to use his strength the break through, then he'd be free.

And then he'd have his revenge…

Lionel sighed as he exited the men's room. He made his mind up and was about to leave early when he looked up and saw people running around. Harry appeared around the corner and ran towards him, "Lionel! Where were you!" 

"Wha… What's going on?" Lionel asked as Harry grabbed his arm and led him towards Disaster Control. He stared questioningly at Harry.

Harry's face was ashen, he seemed almost scared, he stopped and hesitated a bit before he looked up and said, "New Gotham."


	5. Trapped

Once the earthquake had eventually subsided, New Gotham had transformed from a peaceful city, during a normal Tuesday morning, into a city of chaos and sirens. While most buildings had remained intact, a few had collapsed completely. People ran around in the streets screaming. City officials such as police and fire personnel struggled to keep them in order. In Main Street near the court house a water main had burst, a fountain of water shot up into the sky 20 feet high. Fire hydrants nearby had also burst, a fireman helped an old woman, wet to the bone and carrying a poodle under her arm, to a set of stairs and calmed her down, speaking to her soothingly. Another helped a small boy who had had been hit in the head by a rock that had worked itself loose from a building and fell.

Meanwhile in Metropolis…  
Clark had just returned from Antartica where he had helped a ship out of an ice bank. He felt cold and had decided to take a shower. When he finished he wondered into the living room drying his hair with a towel. He and Lois had taken the day off from work.  
"Lois?" he called out.  
"Over here honey! I'm making sandwiches," Lois replied in the Kitchen.  
He smiled and walked towards the kitchen as he passed the television he heard something that made him freeze in his tracks.  
"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you breaking news," a news caster appeared on the TV set. He looked directly into the camera and said, "We have received reports that New Gotham has been hit by an earthquake, officials…" he stopped and cocked his head slightly to the side, as if he was listening to something through his earpiece. His complexion suddenly paled and his mouth opened a little, "I…I've just been informed that it has been confirmed, New Gotham has been hit by and earthquake measuring 10.5 on the Richter scale. I repeat New Gotham has been hit by a earthquake measuring 10.5 on the Richter scale. We'll have more on this story as it breaks."

"Oh my God," Lois whispered behind him.  
Clark turned towards her and mumbled, "I have to go…"

Helena crept out from under the counter, followed shortly by Leonard, both sported minor cuts to their hands and arms. Standing up they made their way through the bar, shards of glass cracking under their feet. Helena brushed bits of glass out her hair as she looked around her. The bar was a disaster. Every single bottle except a corona had fallen to the floor. Bits and pieces of the ceiling had fallen down on top of tables and chairs, shattering them. Leonard stared at the mess with his mouth open. His arm slowly snaked out and grabbed the remaining Corona. He twisted the bottle cap while still staring in disbelief and then took a long drawn sip from the bottle. After he swallowed he mumbled softly, "This is going to take ages to repair…"

Helena didn't hear him, she was staring at the gaping hole in the ceiling. _If that fell on the counter we were under it would have killed us!_ She thought. Suddenly a name flashed in her mind and said it out loud as she turned and bolted out the bar, "Barbara."

Barbara opened her eyes slowly. The cold of the floor bit into her back. She lifted her head as her eyes tried to focus in the dark. She could feel she wasn't in her wheelchair anymore.

"Barbara?" a voice said softly nearby. Barbara turned her head in the direction of the voice.

"Dinah?" she whispered. An odd feeling came over her. She desperately wanted to find Dinah, something about her voice wasn't right.

Barbara lifted her upper body up with her elbow. As her eyes focused more, the reality settled in.  
Her eyes widened in horror, _We're trapped!_

"Barbara?" came Dinah's voice again this time softer.  
Barbara felt a twinge of panic rise in her, "I'm here, Dinah, hang on."  
Suddenly someone gripped her arm.  
"Are you alright?" Justin's voice was etched with concern.  
"Uh yeah," Barbara replied, "I just….i need your help, I need to get to Dinah," she hated asking for help, but she desperately needed be with Dinah.  
After a few moments, Justin had helped Barbara turn around and crawl towards Dinah.

"I'm here," Barbara said soothingly and reached out in the dark to stroke Dinah's forehead.

"Barbara?" Dinah asked once more, this time in a voice barley audible.  
Barbara sucked in a breath of air as she felt a sticky warm substance at the back of Dinah's head. Justin had just found his lighter and lit it. The flame sparked to life, casting an eerie but warm glow in the darkness. Barbara looked down at her hand and almost cried out, it was covered with blood.

His moment had arrived. The wall had weakened, it all he needed. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath in, mustering up all his brute strength and then rushed towards the wall, breaking it down.

"We have a breach!" A prison guard exclaimed as an alarm sounded. Five guards ran to the cell and hurried to open the doors. Once open they rushed towards the hole in the wall, they couldn't see anything.

"Perimeter patrol, we have a possible break out, report to sector 9, I repeat we have a possible break out," one of the guards announced over his radio as his eyes scanned courtyard.

As they searched the asylum grounds, no one noticed a lid of a manhole slowly close.

He was free, finally! Now he had his chance, his chance to get the man back who put him in that rats nest.


	6. Swift as a Brid

Cris watched a woman try comfort her crying daughter. The poor kid hadn't stopped since the earthquake had subsided. Cris searched her jacket pocket and pulled out a mint candy. She smiled as she leaned forward and handed the kid the candy. The child stopped crying and reached out slowly, grabbing the candy, "Thank-you," came the squeaky reply as she unwrapped it and popped it in her mouth. The mother smiled warily and Cris.

Two men rounded the corner of the corridor. Cris stood up and brushed her pants, "And?"  
One of them, an African American, Shaun, shook his head, "It's blocked."  
Cris sighed and then nodded. She looked at the door, "Looks like we'll have to go back into the tunnel."  
She walked up to the door and brushed it quickly with her hand, the steel wasn't hot anymore, just warm. She tuned back to the men and said, "I'm gonna need your help."  
They nodded and joined her, in unison all three lifted their right foot and kicked at the door. Nothing happened. They tried again, this time the door moved, just a little.  
"One more time," Cris said and then kicked at the door real hard.  
The door flew open, revealing something that could only be described as Hell. Cars here and there were on fire, burnt bodies lay scattered across the surface.

The mother gasped, "Oh my…" She covered the child's eyes. The others paled as they surveyed what lay before them. Cris swallowed hard and then turned around. We need to find a way out, but we also need to find survivors.

"Not meaning to sound like a coward, but I wanna try find a way out, I aint good at seeing dead people" one of the men replied, he looked about ready to throw up. Cris nodded, she looked at the mother and lay a hand on the child's back, saying, "Why don't you go with him." She nodded and joined the guy's side.

"If you find a way out, don't worry about us, we'll find our way through too, good luck," Cris said and then turned towards Shaun, "You wanna go to?"  
He straightened himself, "You find anybody your gonna need help, I'm going with you."   
Cris nodded.

"Good luck," The woman whispered and then the group split.  
Cris watched as the two walked away from her, the child, whose head rested on her mother's shoulder waved good-bye, Cris waved back.

Helena knew the consequences of rooftop jumping during the day, but apart from being desperate to reach Barbara and Dinah, she figured everyone would be too busy to notice her. She leaped from rooftop to rooftop at an incredible speed, so incredible she felt as if she was on the verge of loosing control and stumbling.

She ran to the edge of a tall building and then bent slightly down; right at the edge she heaved herself up, vaulting into the air. She kicked her legs, building distance. As the surface of the next roof top neared, she readied herself for the impact. She landed swiftly and softly, just like a cat, but then the building trembled under her. Instinctively she pounced away from the building to the one next to it. She paused and looked behind her as the building crumpled to the ground. She stared for a few seconds at the rubble and then moved on.

Reese pulled up at what was left of the New Gotham High parking lot and leaped out his car. Emergency services had already begun setting up rescue operations for those believed to be trapped under the collapsed school. He jogged towards the fire chief in charge, "Detective Jesse Reese, give me something to help with," he said shaking the Chief's hand.  
"Glad you're here Detective, we need all the hands we can get! You can start by removing some rocks, just follow Mr. Pritchard here," he replied patting a passing fireman's shoulder. Pritchard turned around and smiled at Jesse, "C'mon," he beckoned by cocking his head towards the rubble and moved off. 

He and Jesse had just begun moving rocks when Jesse heard a commotion near the emergency services vehicles. He looked up and saw 2 firemen try restrain Helena from approaching the rubble. He stood up and approached them, "Hey she's with me, let her in!" Helena ran up to him, "Jesse, Barbara…"

"I don't know," he replied cutting her off, "They say there are a few people trapped below."  
"Let me help," she said. Jesse looked into her eyes; he knew there was no way in hell he was going to convince her otherwise, he slowly nodded, "ok."  
Helena bent down and grabbed a rock, "Hold on, I'm coming."

Barbara watched Dinah's eyes droop.  
"Dinah, stay awake, you need to stay awake, please." Barbara pleaded.  
The girl's eyes opened a little more. Barbara smiled, "That's it, I'm here," Barbara grabbed Dinah's hand, "Just stay with me."

Justin took his jacket of and handed it to Barbara, "Here use this as a pillow."  
Barbara smiled, "Thank you." She lifted Dinah's head up carefully and slid the jacket underneath, then she lowered the girl's head. Barbara wiped a lock of hair out of Dinah's face.

Barbara suddenly felt a presence, it brought along some hope, and Barbara closed her eyes, "Hurry Helena."

Shaun and Cris picked their way past burning cars and burned bodies. Cris felt a little sick to the stomach seeing charred remains of people. Her heart sank even more when she saw those of children. Her thoughts turned around to Barbara, Dinah, Helena and Matthew. She wondered if they were ok, if they weren't hurt or trapped just like her. The earthquake felt pretty strong. She guessed it'd be around 9, 9.5, considering the tectonic plates would carry the brunt of the **quake**. If those plates weren't there, things would have been a lot worse, a whole lot worse.

A scream broke her out of her thoughts and her head shot up. They both immediately sprinted towards the direction of the scream.

The ambulance was worse for wear, the front had taken the brunt of falling debris, while the back had caved in a little from a minibus that had ploughed into it. Cris climbed on top of the minibus and crawled to the back of the ambulance, she peered through the small broken windows. A pregnant woman lay on a stretcher, she was breathing heavily, next to her, on the floor lay a paramedic. His neck was bent in a bad way.

"Damn," Cris whispered, "Hang on!" she shouted to the woman and turned to Shaun.  
"We need to move this van," Shaun nodded. She jumped off the roof and crawled into the van, deactivating the handbrake. She joined Shaun, and they both started pulling the van. Anxiety turned to anger as Cris tried to summon all her strength.  
"Oh C'MON!" she shouted through gritted teeth.  
Shaun too struggled to move the van, "Man, wha the hell is in this thing!" he said.  
Cris stopped pulling and kicked the back, "PIECE OF CRAP!"  
She climbed up to the roof of the van again and crawled to the window of the ambulance, "Shaun, I need you to help me in," she said as she tried clearing away most of the glass. He nodded and joined her on the top, as she started crawling through the small space, Shaun pushed her in from behind. Cris landed ungraciously on the floor of the ambulance, ignoring the cuts she had taken on from her tight squeeze, she crawled up to the woman. "Ok hold on."

"Please, you gotta save my baby," the woman pleaded.  
Cris nodded, "I will help with all I can, are you in labor?"  
The woman nodded.  
Cris eyes widened and then she breathed out, "Oh boy!"


	7. A Life for a Life

Barbara ran her hand through Dinah's hair; she had Carolyn's hair, always so soft. Many times Barbara caught herself staring at her hair, glowing in the sun, so bright. In many ways Dinah resembled Carolyn. Her hair, her smile her way of nervously tucking her hair behind her ears. Barbara didn't show it, but she suffered too when Carolyn died, she cried softly the first few nights, her tears masked by Dinah's.

She stared into Dinah's glassy eyes and whispered, "I'm not ready to let you go, and don't you dare leave me."  
Dinah's eyes rolled slowly to meet Barbara's and as Barbara watched the light in her eyes flickered and then her eyes closed.  
Barbara caught her breathe, "No Dinah, open your eyes."  
She shook her softly, not wanting to cause any more damage. Justin moved up closer and placed his head near Dinah's chest, "She's not breathing," He said then immediately started CPR. Barbara pinched Dinah's nosed and counted 5 pumps and then placed her mouth over Dinah's and blew air into her lungs. Justin repeated 5 pumps and then Barbara blew air into her lungs again. Barbara felt a tightening around her own chest _I can't loose you! I won't! _She looked up at Justin who had checked Dinah's breathing.  
He shook his head.

Helena ignored the pain of in her hand and lifted another rock. Then she felt something. A feeling, like something slipping away, falling. She looked down and whispered, "Dinah, no." In a fury she quickened her pace. She couldn't understand how she knew, and why, she imagined Barbara explaining that perhaps it was a bond between Helena and Dinah that made her sense the teenagers condition. Perhaps Dinah was linking with her telepathically, but whatever the reason, Dinah was slipping away, and Helena needed to get to her. "Hang on, I'm coming."

Cris stared blankly at the woman thinking, "you got to be kidding me!"  
She breathed in deeply, "OK, just breathe, ok?"  
The woman nodded and Cris nodded after her, "We both just gotta breathe."  
Silently Cris wished she had watched more of Chicago Hope. Her mind raced as to what she had to do.  
A hand fell on her shoulder, "You take her hand, I'll help out with the rest, my wife does this every day," Shaun said reassuring her. Cris nodded and grabbed the woman's hand, smiling at her.

Justin immediately started CPR. Barbara pinched Dinah's nosed and counted 5 pumps and then placed her mouth over Dinah's and blew air into her lungs. Justin repeated 5 pumps and then Barbara blew air into her lungs again. Barbara felt a tightening around her own chest I can't loose you! I won't! She looked up at Justin who had checked Dinah's breathing. He shook his head.

"Push!" Shaun ordered. The woman screamed back, "I AM PUSHING!" She tightened her grip on Cris's hand. Cris winced and looked up at Shaun, "She's pushing alright!"  
Shaun smiled and looked down, "I can see the head, it's almost out!"

A wailing pierced the silence of the tunnel. Shaun and Cris laughed as Shaun pulled out a screaming baby. The mother smiled faintly and then closed her eyes. The baby wriggled in Shaun's hands, and then he suddenly stopped, staring at Shaun. For a moment Shaun and the baby stared at each other, mesmerized by each other's presence. Then Shaun slowly looked away and at the mother, "It's a boy." He frowned. She lay motionless in the stretcher. Cris moved her finger over the woman's pulse and paused. She lowered her head, "She's gone."

Barbara bent her head and started crying, "No it's not your time!" She threw her fist through the air and pounded on Dinah's Chest. Suddenly Dinah sucked in air. Justin quickly checked her breathing and smiled, "You did it!"  
Barbara buried her face in the crook of Dinah's neck, "Thank you God."


	8. Tight Spaces

New Gotham's city song had changed from the chorus of hooting to wails of sirens and car alarms. A crisis management camp had been established nearby NGPD, handling the management of emergency calls and deployment of rescue forces. Volunteers rushed about the camp, preparing for an influx of injured or homeless.

Slidell, an African American male, in his early 30's with a strong build, sat quietly, staring intently at a computer screen. _It's not possible,_ he thought to himself, shaking his head for effect, _How could they have crumbled so easily?_ New Gotham was meant to be indestructible after the initial earthquake that had destroyed Old Gotham. Experts and architects from around the globe were called in to not only to rebuild the city but reinforce it, using the most indestructible materials at hand. With the addition of the tectonic plates, New Gotham was the city that could not be destroyed by any act of God. The question now was, why had the Ruthell Bridge and many other buildings, including NGHS, collapsed as if they were made of straw, while others had only suffered minimal structural damage? Engineers had already established that the tectonic plates had not failed. In fact, they had taken most of the brunt from the earthquake, with only minimum damage.

His eyes wondered over to a piece of rock he had acquired from the rubble at NGHS. He ran his fingers over the rugged edges, and then pressed against a stone that stood out, after some force, the stone broke loose. He picked the stone up and stared at it, "What's your story little guy," he said half jokingly. Then he stood up, grabbed his jacket and decided to head out to Ruthell Bridge to collect more samples. 

Barbara wiped the sweat of her forehead and took a deep breath in, wincing. She stretched her back, and started rubbing her neck. It was getting really hot in there and she could feel they were running out of air, it was getting harder to breathe. Also her muscles started to ache, especially her shoulders, there was a pesky pain just below her right shoulder, that wouldn't go away.

"You ok," Justin asked next to her. She nodded, even though he couldn't see her nod and then said, "Yeah"  
"Ok," he replied and fell silent.

Suddenly Barbara felt delirious, she had the strangest feeling the walls were closing in some more.

"Oh my god," she whispered.  
"What's wrong?" Justin asked hastily, and checked on Dinah, thinking something was wrong with her.  
"The rocks, they're gonna crush us," Barbara replied and started pushing against the rocks above them. Justin frowned and put his hand against the rocks, They weren't even trembling. He listened carefully and heard Barbara's breathing rapidly increase, she was struggling to breathe.  
"Help me, we gotta stop them," she said frantically pushing against them.  
"Barbara," Justin called out softly. Barbara didn't hear him, she clawed at the rocks, _Damn they wont move!_ She clutched her chest, she couldn't breathe. She swallowed, her tongue felt thick. She felt the sweat pour down her face and neck, and her back felt wet. 

"Barbara," Justin repeated.

She still didn't hear him, she stared pushing against the sides of the small space, "Help me."

Justin grabbed her shoulders and pulled her close to his face, "Listen to me, listen to my voice."

Barbara pushed his arms away, she wanted to kick at the walls, but only got frustrated when she realized her legs wouldn't move.

"No!" she screamed and started hitting the rocks.

Helena grabbed a rock and pulled at it. It was too heavy and her hands slipped off it. She groaned and she cut her right hand against one of it's sharp edges.  
"DAMN!" she grabbed at it again, and pulled at it. Jesse joined her and both grunted as they tried lifting the rock. No luck.

Then Helena felt a rush of air behind her and she saw a man, taller than her, in blue tights and a red cape swirling behind him. He eyes were a cold blue, they seemed determined and focused.  
"Need a little help?" Superman asked walking towards her and Jesse.  
Helena nodded and pointed to the rock, "Think you can handle that?" she asked.  
Superman smirked, "I think I can manage," he bent down and effortlessly picked it up.  
Through the stone shroud of the woman who stood in front of him, Clark caught a brief glimpse of relief and then anxiousness.  
He smiled and then nodded, "Lets get to it."

Justin wrapped his arms around her and held onto her tight, she struggled, trying to free herself. He brought his lips close to her ear and said, "Listen to my voice," suddenly his voice sounded deep, calming and smooth.

"Breathe…"

She then felt the calm wash over, an odd feeling of peace. Suddenly her eyes felt very heavy, and soon she fell asleep.


	9. Condition

The air was stifling. A cloud of smoke from cigars and cigarettes drifted lazily up. The air vents were void, only a small fan near the bar blew some of the smoke away.  
The bar was relatively empty, save a few patrons who sat on the corners. Those there were either alcoholics or where drifters. Bars like this attracted strangers such as that. A 'no-questions-asked' type bar, where no one cares who you are, just as long as you pay for your drink, and take your fist fights outside.

A barman paces up and down the bar, pouring mostly beer from beer taps into huge beer mugs and slides them to the waiting patrons. Then he resumes drying wine glasses and hangs them in the racks above. The television above was turned on and the sound wafted softly through the occasional clanking of glasses, flicking of lighters and coughs. A newsreader appeared on the TV screen and a picture of a very different New Gotham appeared.

"Barman! Turn it up," shouted a voice from the darkest corner of the bar. The barman grunted and turned up the volume.

"…emergency services representative Charles Raath, has reported that the situation is under control. Although New Gotham general was reported to be overfilled, an emergency field hospital has been erected near Gotham Park. Those critical are taken immediately to…"

The stranger drummed his fingers nervously on the rim of his beer glass.

"…so far 30 people have died and 500 are reported injured. We'll have more on this as it breaks. In International news dictatorship has ended in Zimb.."

The barkeep turned the volume down. He turned to one of the patrons, "I thought New Gotham was indestructible after the first **quake**."

"It's that bloody architect, Mr Whatsisname, he was smoking his own underwear when he built those buildings!"

Another patron chimed in, "Yeah, someone told me couple of weeks ago that he was skipping on some of the regulations, probably why he went missing after the reconstruction, didn't wanna be held responsible"

The first replied, "I heard he was on the verge of bankruptcy, before the city officials approached him to help with the rebuilding of New Gotham"

The stranger in the corner stood up and hurriedly approached the bar. He was unshaven, unkempt and his eyes were red. He paid the barkeep and then stumbled out of the bar.

The second patron pointed his thumb at the departing stranger and asked, "Wonder what's up with him."

The barkeep grunted and hung another wine glass on the rack, "Just another drifter."

Cris felt exhausted, she and Shaun had spent a good deal of an hour trying to find a way out, but they had no luck. They needed desperately to get out quickly, and get the newborn to the hospital.

She shifted her position on the ledge they were sitting on, only for a brief rest. She looked over at Shaun and the baby. Shaun smiled down at the little bundle, his eyes bright yet also sad.

"You and your wife got any kids?" she asked. Shaun looked up and shook his head slightly.

"Vivica was involved in a horrible accident a few years ago. There had been an accident earlier on, on the freeway, the traffic was back up for a mile or so. She was just about to pass the scene, when a truck driver entered the emergency lane and ploughed into the ambulance, the truck's load fell onto her car, pinning her down. When they pulled her out, she was suffering massive internal injuries. She spent a month in hospital. Since then we've tried unsuccessfully, finally we went to a specialist," Shaun bent his head and looked down at the baby, "Her ovaries were damaged in the accident, she was unable to conceive."

Cris frowned, "I'm…I'm sorry."

Shaun smiled and then looked up, "Somehow I can't help thinking that somehow, just somehow I was meant to take a detour. I was actually late for work, and I meant to bypass this section and take a shortcut, but as I passed the intersection I saw a kid run into the tunnel, and I had this urge that he wanted me to follow him, so I did."

He looked back down at the baby.

Cris smiled. 

Suddenly something cold and hard was pressed into the back of her head, "A touching story if I do say so myself," there was a click, a sound that made her blood turn cold.

Barbara stirred from her deep sleep. She heard someone calling her name, it seemed distant and faint. Two hands gently cupped her cheeks. She opened her eyes slowly, a strong white light blinded her.

"Barbara?" Helena asked as Barbara's eyes fluttered open, "You ok?"

Barbara cleared her throat, "yeah." She tried to sit up, Justin helped her. She covered her eyes and looked next to her. Several paramedics were lifting Dinah into a stretcher while another checked her vital signs.

"Dinah…" Barbara tried to say.  
"Her pulse is weak, and she has a possible skull fracture," Jesse replied bending down next to Helena, "They're gonna air lift her to Faraday Clinic."

"No, General is closer…" Barbara waved her hand and shook her head.  
"General is filled to the max," Helena replied, "Look we need to get you to an ambulance…"

"I'm fine…" Barbara insisted.  
"We just need to be sure ma'am," a paramedic cut in as he approached them with a stretcher, another joined him and they lifted her onto the stretcher.  
"I need to go with her…" Barbara protested as she lifted he upper body up.  
"The girl will be ok ma'am, please let the medics tend to you" said a voice behind Helena. Barbara's eye widened as she recognised the voice. Superman appeared behind Helena's winking at her. _Clark!_ He laid a hand on her shoulder and bent down whispering, "I'll talk to you later." He stood up and turned to Helena, "Good Job" And then flew off into the sky.

Helena turned around to face Barbara, "I'll go with her. I'm glad you're ok." They locked eyes for a moment, both realising how close they had been to not only loosing Dinah's but each other as well. Then Helena followed Dinah's stretcher.

"Turn around slowly, with your hands in the air babe and no sudden moves," the voice, with a slight Irish accent, commanded. Cris raised her arms and turned around. Three men, two armed with semi automatic rifles, and another with a Glock 9mm, stood pointing their gun at Cris and Shaun. They wore orange overalls with 'prisoner' written in black across the chest. All three were skinheads. The leader, the one who had the Glock pointed at her, had an old scar running down from his right eye to his chin. He had a false eye in his right eye socket. He stood well over 6 feet tall. The other two were shorter than Cris, one had a dragon tattooed to his neck

All three had cuts bruises on their faces and hands. Cris looked behind them at what was left of a prison transport bus. Two prison guards lay dead nearby the bus.

"You killed them when they tried to help you out?" Cris asked coldly.

The left corner of the leaders lip curled into a smile, "They were gonna take us back to that hell hole, I couldn't allow it. Now why don't you and pretty boy turn around and lead us out of here."

He flicked the gun in the opposite direction.

Once the doctors had treated her for mild shock and a couple of cuts, Barbara was given the permission to go. She had just manoeuvred herself into her chair when Alfred appeared in the doorway.

"Alfred! You're alright! Oh thank God!" she exclaimed and hugged him as soon as she reached him. Alfred smiled and patted her shoulder as they pulled apart, "It is going take more than an act of God to keep me from being 'alright' Miss Barbara."

Barbara smiled, in more ways than one, Alfred himself was too a hero, "Alfred we need to get to Faraday Clinic."

"I know Miss Barbara, that is why I took the liberty of using Master Bruce's private helicopter, the streets are a terrible mess!"

Barbara smiled again, "Thank you Alfred."

Barbara sighed as she turned her gaze from the pacing Helena to the floor. Her mind wondered surprisingly to Justin, how he had comforted her, how she had suddenly felt a sense of peace before she fell asleep.

The sudden halt in Helena's pacing caused Barbara to look up. The specialist stood in his scrubs infront of them, near the doorway. He looked weary and tired.

"We've stopped the bleeding, and any possibility of blood clotting. But," he ran his fingers through his head, "There's a lot of trauma to the brain."

Barbara reached out and grabbed Helena's hand.

"I think we should talk about the possibility of Brain damage," he finished.


	10. Song of the Dark

The doctor's words echoed through her head. _Brain damage? This is not real, this is not happening!_

She looked up at the doctor, he went on listing what they should be expecting, or rather should not. Barbara didn't notice that Helena's hold on her hand had gotten tighter and tighter.

Helena clenched her jaw, her eyes narrowed as she looked directly at the doctor. _Kid!_ There was no way she wanted to accept what the doctor was telling them. She didn't want to accept the fact that Dinah might not know her, might not know Barbara. That Dinah might become, well on better terms, mentally challenged. It was then that Helena realized that for once, after the Harley saga, she was scared. It had taken her time, but Helena had begun to accept Dinah as part of the family, even had begun to love her like a sibling, and now she was going to loose her.

Helena loosened her grip and pulled her hand away. Startled, Barbara looked up. Helena had turned her head away and walked out the waiting room door. Barbara wanted to follow her, but she knew Helena needed space; she knew Helena didn't want to show how she was feeling.

Barbara turned her head to look at the doctor, "Doctor," she interrupted her, "You said 'the possibility' of brain damage, is there chance that she might not have any damage at all?" she knew what his answer was going to be, but she hoped to be wrong, for once.

He looked down and thought for a second and then looked up, "Honestly, I'd say she has a one in a thousand chance of not suffering damage," he answered, "I have to go back and look on her, if you need any assistance or if you have any questions, just tell the sister in the front, and she'll call me," He put his hand on Barbara's arm. Barbara nodded and then watched him walk out the room.

_Dinah!_

Helena stood on a balcony and looked out over the city. She had started to feel the numbness she felt when she watched her mother die, except now, Dinah was slipping away. She was so close to settling in, so close to accepting her bond to the girl, and now she was loosing her.

She hit the railing with her fist, _Damn it! This should not be happening!_

She heard the door open behind her. She wished the person away, this was her balcony at the moment, her personal space.

"You okay?" said a voice to her left, behind her, the voice was all too familiar. She lifted her head and continued looking over the city.  
"Helena?" he asked softly and put his hand gently on her shoulder. She turned around an enfolded her arms around him, burying her head in his chest. He frowned and then wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm here," he ran his fingers through her hair, "It's ok."

"No it's not ok Jesse," she said then pulled away, "She's not ok."  
"Look she's meta right? The doctor is only making a diagnosis based what he knows, he knows nothing about metas. What about her personal physician, the one Barbara and your father have worked with in the past?"

"Thompkins is in General," Helena replied.

"Look, I can pull a few strings, get Dinah transferred to your father's private ward or something, lemme help," he said closing the gap between him and her. Helena looked up.  
"Just let me help," he whispered.  
Her eyes were a deep blue with a glint of tears in the corners. She nodded her head and then hugged him again, holding onto him tightly.

Slidell sighed as he tapped the pencil against the examination pad. So far all avenues had come to a dead end. It was beginning to frustrate him. He threw the pencil away from him and leaned back in his chair folding his arms behind his head. He knew he was overlooking something, something simple.

He sat up straight and grabbed another rock he had procured from the NGHS rubble. He threw it up in the air and caught it. Then he threw it to the floor; it crumbled like a piece of clay. He stared at the pieces and then suddenly sat up straight.

"Of course!" he exclaimed and then ran out the lab.

_Damn it!_ If only it were darker, then no one would have seen her face so clearly. She could have had the bozos subdued and her, Shaun and the baby on the surface. But there were too many reasons why it was a stupid move at the moment. One, they had seen her face, she did her disappearing act, they'd be all over the newspaper once they were on the surface, secondly, even though she felt no-one in the shadows above, it didn't mean no-one was looking. She also had to admit, she hated guns, and there were too many guns to make a move. She had to think.

She cleared her mind and then focused on the tunnel. She felt how the darkness touched places, she felt their shadows, and she felt the tunnels, the surface. Then she jerked her head to the left. A light bulb had burst, then another and another. The lights inside the tunnel were beginning to fail; this was the push she needed.  
She looked at the prisoners and then at Shaun. A light nearby them frizzed and then blew. The prisoners were distracted and looked at it. Then she made her move, she shot her hand out to Shaun and closed her eyes. She felt the rush as she whisked herself and Shaun to a darker corner of the tunnel, well away from the prisoners.

As they materialized, Cris moved up to Shaun and examined the baby, hoping that the teleport had not affected him. Shaun stood dazed.

"Wha…" he swallowed, "What just happened."

Cris sighed, "Look it's kinda difficult to explain…"

"Wait, you're one too?" he asked.

"Huh?" Cris stared at him.

"Now I know where I've seen you before! All the time I kept thinking to myself you looked so familiar but now I know! I saw you once at No Man's Land!" He said excitedly.

"You're a metahuman?" Cris asked surprised.

"A what?" Shaun asked.

Cris chuckled, "A metahuman, special abilities and so on."

"Oh yeah! Watch this," he handed the baby to Cris and then took a deep breath in. He turned away from her and then blew it all out slowly. A wind the almost force of a hurricane burst out his mouth, almost rolling the car in front of him. Cris stood awestruck, "Wow!"

Shaun laughed, "Yeah that's what mom said when I blew my birthday candles out for the first time, and we spent well on an hour cleaning all the cake off the walls and floors!"

They laughed.

Cris patted him on the shoulder, "I gotta go back, you look for a way out, and I'll catch up with you later."  
Shaun nodded, understanding. She smiled and took a step backwards, then disappeared.


	11. Aftershock

Jesse watched Helena from behind the glass window. Helena walked up to Barbara and then turned around and watched Dinah. He wished he could do so much more than what he had already done. He wanted to reach out to Helena and grab the pain and throw it away. His eye wondered over to Dinah, who lay amongst tubes and bandages. He wondered if she would pull through, he hoped she would, for Barbara and especially for Helena's sake.

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He lifted the phone to his ear, "Reese." As the person on the other end spoke to him he moved away from the glass window.

"What?" His pupils widened as his face grew stern, "When?"

He rubbed his temple and sighed, "Do you have any idea where he might be?"

He looked up towards Dinah's room, "No I have a contact who might be able to help, tell the team to fall back to the entrance and wait for my instructions."

He sighed as he hung the call up. Staring at the mobile his mind formulated a plan.

She looked so pale and fragile, almost like a porcelain doll. Her blonde hair, of what was left, lay clumsily on the white pillow. Her body was hooked up into various machines, one a drip, another helped her breathe.

As Barbara soaked in the scene, she began remembering the night she woke up in hospital after the Joker had shot her.

The sound of the door opening interrupted her. She looked up to see Jesse look in.

"Sorry to bother you, I need to speak to both of you," He said softly.

Helena looked down at Barbara and then at Jesse.

"What's wrong detective?" Barbara asked.

Jesse looked at Dinah, worriedly.

Barbara chuckled sadly, "It's alright detective, it's much more private in here than out in the passageway.

Jesse entered and closed the door behind him. He looked at Barbara, then Helena then Barbara again.

"I just got a phone call from one of my superiors. There's been a break out at Arkham," He said waiting for effect, which was duly rewarded.

Barbara's face grew stern as her demeanor turned to that of Oracle.

"Who?" She asked.

"Killer Croc," he replied.

"Fucking idiot," Ambros muttered as he shoved Art forward.

"Quit it ok, it aint me fault!" Art protested, thun spun around swatting Ambros' arm away.

"Oh sure," Auley huffed as he moved the flashlight back and forth, "Had you been awake we'd have hostages to bargin with!"

"I wasn't talking to you," Art shot at Auley.

"Up your's Art," Auley shot back. 

"Easy fellers, you start beating each other up you aint gonna leave anything for me," a voice said to their left.

Auley swung his flashlight around to the direction from where the voice came. There was nothing.

"Come to think of it, be my guest, saves me the effort," the voice said from their right now.

Auley swung the flashlight back to their right, "Slippery little bugger."

Ambros hit both of them on their heads, "Shut up."  
He listened carefully, he heard as slight movement behind him, he whipped around and shot his arm forward.

Cris caught his arm and twisted it, Ambros' body followed the motion as it flipped in the air and crashed against a rock.

"GNNHH!" he moaned cradling his midsection.

"Shyte!" Art exclaimed and shot three shots to where Ambros' attacker was.

"Didn't your mom ever tell you to never play with guns? Someone could get hurt," Cris said behind him.

Art swung around and aimed, the gun twisted in his hand and smashed into his face, breaking his nose, "Bleedin fuck!" he shouted as the blood spurt over his mouth and chin.

"Lanuage," Cris chided from behind him, she lifted him up and threw him against the wall.

_Hmm those lessons with Helena are paying off!_

Auley trained his gun on her and fired, empting the clip. Once finished he waited for the gunsmoke to clear. There was no body.

"Missed," Cris hissed next to him and kicked him in the ribs. Auley stubled sideways.

"Bitch," Auley exclaimed and swung his rifle at her, hitting her in the arm.

Cris grimaced as the pain shot through her arm. She teleported to his side hand wrapped her arm around his neck, "Lemme tell you one thing you sorry shit, I hate guns, and I'm really starting to hate you!"

Trolley Walker was always subject to being teased about his name. His parents were stoned when they named him, and ever since it stuck like a thorn in the side. Although the teasing did affect him in some way, it wasn't to his confidence and esteem, and it was that attitude that got him the best engineer of New Gotham award, three times in a row.

But in all his years as the top engineer of the city, Trolley had never seen a mess like this.

"Whaddya mean you don't know!" he shouted over the walkie.

:It's pretty much one way sir, I can't see any way we gonna stop this leak before it bursts into the main sewers: a voice replied, it seemed faint amongst an unholy sound of machines and rushing water.

"You're going to get that leak fixed, and you're going to get it done before I get to you, do you understand?" he said sternly.

There was a brief moment then:Yes sir:

"Good, Walker out."

Helena hated the sewers, and even more she hated herself. She wanted to be by Dinah's side. She didn't want to care about some toon bin that escaped from Arkham. She actually didn't care, there was always another time she could catch him.

Then she remembered the 'code'. "Oh yeah, the 'code'," she said to herself. The code to help out when help was needed, to save those who needed saving, to bring the wrong doers to justice, To keep the city safe, yeah the 'code'.

Reluctantly Helena followed Reese through the network of tunnels, searching for the dumbest sounding perp. "Killer Croc?" she asked, "What kind of name was…"

She stopped and lifted her head. A strong sense of danger crept through her like a night chill. Her eyes morphed into feral as she spun around, trying to pin point where it was coming from.

"Helena?" Reese asked. "What's…"

Helena spun around to him and shouted, "Aftershock!"

Cris swallowed the pain and gritted her teeth as she struggled to pull the gun from Auley's hand. With one last burst of strength she ripped it away from him and threw it behind her. Leaping into the air she aimed a kick at his temple, knocking him out.

An arm wrapped came out from behind her and wrapped around her neck, "Nice moves freak, lets see you get out of this!" Ambrose sneered in her ear.

_Damn! I can't teleport out of his grip, I need to get him off me!_ She tugged at his arm, trying to loosen it enough to slip her chin in. He was too strong, he tightened his grip.

Cris choked, her face started turning red. _Need to……loosen…grip._

Her head began to swim, her eyes rolled up as she gasped for air.

The last thing she saw was the ceiling of the tunnel falling towards them.


	12. Do Cats Swim?

Thought never rationalizes instinct, most times the action is so fast, the brain doesn't even register it at first. That's what exactly what happened when Barbara heard the rumble. With the raw strength in her arms she vaulted herself from her seat and threw her body over Dinah's. Had her brain been quicker than the gut instinct, she would have realized how uncalled for a move that was. Nothing happened. The ceiling didn't collapse. Nothing broke or fell. 

Barbara was too proud to admit to herself that she was paranoid. But no-one could blame her. She was protecting Dinah, that's all that counted.

"Barbara?" a voice said from the door.

Looking up from the blanket covering Dinah, Barbara saw Justin standing at the door. He moved quickly to her side and helped her lower herself into her chair.

"I…," she began to say.

"It's alright, I would have done the same," he said smiling encouragingly at her.

She smiled back, weakly.

Helena opened her eyes. She did a mental check of her body, nothing felt broken or injured, except there was a heavy weight above her.

"Uh, Reese?" She said and then pointed her thumb upwards, "Could you?"

Reese cleared his throat and then stood up, off of her, "Sorry."  
Helena raised an eyebrow as he helped her stand up.

Reese checked his watch and then announced, "We better get…"

Helena held her hand up, "What's that?"

There was a noise that grew louder and louder.

"Another earthquake?" Reese asked.

"No, it's something else," Helena replied sniffing the air.

They turned to the direction it seem to originate. Frowning they watched a trickle of water flow by them. Then it grew into a steady little stream. The noise grew louder and louder until suddenly a body of water crashed around the corner.

Dum dum

Dum dum

Somehow, hearing her hearbeat, Cris was convinced she was not dead, either that or an angel was beating a harp over her head.

"Miss," said a distant voice.  
"Miss?"

Another voice joined in, "Cris? Baby c'mon."

Cris groaned and opened her eyes, "Matthew?"  
Her vision was blurry at first, figures were standing over her, but she couldn't make out who they were.

"Oh thank God! Yeah it's me Matthew," Matthew replied, "How are you feeling?"

Her vision started clearing, "I…my arm hurts."  
Someone next to Matthew moved and touched her arm gently. Cris winced and moaned.

"It looks like a fracture, we need to get her to the field clinic and set her arm," the guy said to Matthew.

"Ok," Matthew replied and then looked back at her, "Don't you ever give me a fright like that again."

"What happened?" Cris asked.

"Superman pulled you away just in time, the whole tunnel collapsed. They don't know why, there's rumours going around about a weak structure or something," he said holding her hand.

"Superma…Oh shit! Matthew there were prisoners inside," Cris said now very awake.

"Relax, the one who was strangling you is in custody, the others were still inside."

A paramedic approached them and lifted her in a stretcher.

Helena and Reese ran down the sewer as the water closed the gap between it and them. They rounded a corner and spotted a ladder hanging in the air leading to a manhole. Reese leaped for it just as the water swept them up and grabbed Helena's hand. He gritted his teeth as he struggled to hold onto her.

Helena tried to keep her head above the water as it washed over her. We're not going to make it, the water is too strong! She thought gasping for air.

"Let…. Me go!" she shouted amongst breaths of air.

"No, I wont," Reese shouted back, he tried to pull her towards him.

"Reese you can't save the both of us, you'll get taken along with me, just let go!"

"NO! I won't loose you! Not to this!" He screamed through gritted teeth, his arm felt like it were about to be torn off. _I won't loose you! _

Helena took a mouth full of water and choked; she brought her other hand up and tried to pry Reese's hand off.

Reese looked above him, sunlight streamed though the holes. He smiled for a brief moment. _I won't loose you, if you die, I die with you_. And then let go of the ladder.


	13. Water Logged

How strange death is. For years you fight to suppress the moments you've wanted to forget for the rest of your life, but when life begins to slip away from you, those images come flooding back before your eyes, overshadowing those moments you've always wanted to remember. It is then that you realize, it wasn't only the best of moments that had sculptured your life, but it was also the worst.

For Helena it was the death of her mother.

_Mom? Mom, can you hear me, it's Helena. Mom? You have to, you have to, you have to hear me._

She had to have heard Helena, she was alive only seconds ago.

_Mom!_

Helena looks up, trying to find a spark of hope, someone who could help her, someone who could bring her mother back, but instead she looked into the cold eyes of the one who took her away.

_Stop him! Somebody stop him! Somebody stop him!_

Life she knew then, life with her mother, all the happy times she had spent with her in Paris, ended as the knife dropped to the ground, bloodied by Selina Kyle's blood.

_Mom? Mom?_

Helena had once said the death of her mother changed her, changed her into something she wasn't meant to be. But now, she wouldn't give any part of her life up, she had become the person she _was_ meant to be.

Helena felt her head get lighter as the oxygen in her lungs became less. She could still feel Reese holding on to her hand, his grip tight and unyielding. More images flashed through her mind as the current of the rushing water dragged her and Reese deeper into the bowels of the sewer.

Barbara twirled a piece of cotton around her finger. It had been hanging loose from her sleeve, she carefully plucked it off, careful not to damage the seam. Barbara normally did this when she was anxious and nervous altogether.

She didn't know what to say to Justin, she still felt odd in his presence; she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Coupled together with Dinah's predicament, it made a one red headed women with a bundle of nervous crying out.

"Justin, I…" she began to say, she tried forming the words she wanted to say, but she difficulty pronouncing them, " I just wanted to say Thank-you for…" she looked up at him, straight into his blue eyes, that sparkled back at her, as if teasing her, wanting her to finish what she wanted to say, "…for what you did back there. I kind of lost it…"

"You're welcome," he said softly.

Inwardly, Barbara was relieved he had interrupted. It was hard enough for her to admit having lost her otherwise calm and cool collected self, but it was harder admitting it to a total stranger. At least that's what he really was, a stranger, and a gorgeous one at that. Barbara mentally slapped herself.

Barbara turned her attention back at Dinah. It was hard not to see Dinah smiling shyly, her eyes a shine with life. Barbara reached over and tucked a lock of Dinah's long blonde hair behind her ear.

"She's going to be alright," Justin said soothingly.

_Gosh his voice is so beautiful_; she thought when she looked up at him.

She questioned how he could be so sure that Dinah would make it. How could he be so certain, he didn't know Dinah, who and what she was? Hoe could he be so sure?

Someone standing in the doorway cleared their throat. Barbara and Justin looked up to see Cris smiling apologetically. Her arm was set and in a sling, and she sported a cut just below her left eye.

"Cris!" Barbara exclaimed, she had totally forgotten about her in all that has happened, "Thank God you're alright, what happened?"

Cris nodded to Justin and then answered, "I was inside the tunnel when part of it collapsed. Had a bit of a drama inside then got rescued before the whole tunnel caved in."  
She winked mischievously at Barbara before turning her eyes towards Dinah's still form.

"The nurse told me what happened, I'm so sorry Barbara," Cris said as she walked up and stood alongside Barbara, placing her only free hand on Barbara's shoulder. Barbara nodded her face grim and her lips pressed. A movement in the doorway caught her eye, she looked up and immediately recognized the man who stood in front of them.

"Mr. Harper," she said, "Glad to see you in one piece too."  
Matthew smiled and nodded, "I too am glad to see you alright." He glanced at Justin and for a brief moment Barbara could swear Matthew recognized Justin.

That's when she felt it, anger, like a ripple in a calm pond. She looked at Justin. His eyes had narrowed slightly, and the once peaceful and assuring look was displaced by something that looked like hatred. He turned to her and said, "If you'll excuse me, my niece is the nurse attending on this floor, I have yet to greet her." He stood up and nodded courteously at Cris and then left, pushing past Matthew.

_Well, you almost killed that man._

Not really, even though I wanted to more than anything

Yeah well you didn't. So what do you say we try that dinner?

Yeah… Or we could, go straight to dessert. 

Sure he had kissed other women before, but that kiss that night, was the first ever, that made him feel real and alive. He had wanted to do that every time she 'dropped' by, every time she looked into his eyes and then looked away, almost shyly.

The moment his lips touched hers and his eyes closed, he knew then that this what she wanted too.

_Yeah… we could do that._

A small waved gently touched his face. Reese blinked and then took in a deep breath of air, immediately spluttering water afterwards. He opened his eyes. Everything was out of focus, it was like his eyes were water logged.

_I'm never going swimming again for a long time!_ He thought has he slowly tried picking himself up. He managed to sluggishly throw himself into a seating position and then looked around. It looked like he had landed on a loading bay of sorts, a ramp that lead into the water. It lead up towards a platform, littered with junk. He tried to stand up but then crumbled to the ground, his foot hurt badly. The water must have slammed it against the wall during it's trip through the sewers. He grimaced as he stood up, trying to avoid pressure on his foot. He looked around and then realized why something felt amiss to him. His hand was empty, whereas before, he had Helena's hand in it. Almost frantically he tried to spot her body nearby, hoping the water had spilled her close to him.

He spotted some odd markings on the ground, almost like something had been dragged on the ground. His eyes followed it up to the entrance of a maintenance tunnel. A gut feeling told him to follow that tunnel. Something told him, Helena was there, and he wasn't about to give it another thought. Limping as fast as he could, he entered the darkened tunnel with only the safety of Helena in mind.


	14. Ladies and Gentlemen

"Ladies and Gentlemen. The mayor of New Gotham: Ryan Foley"

A soft wind had braced the city. It tousled the hair of those who stood with their attention directed towards a small wooden lecturn. A tall, haggard man stepped up and scanned the crowd. Ever since all this had started that morning, he hadn't had an ounce of free time, no time for a breather, and only had a few seconds to find out if his wife was all right. He felt worn down.

He'd never expected to face something like this, not anything at this scale. What was he to tell them? Oh _sorry_, we _thought_ New Gotham was safe, our bad. Was he to tell them that those structures that had collapsed were, if one had to simplify it, houses made of sand? Where was he to begin? And was it going to end? If he vowed the safety of each surviving citizen, was he going to be able to be true to his word? How many other buildings built by that bastard would collapse? Was he competent for something like this?

Someone next to him cleared their throat. Ryan blinked and then nodded, he took a deep breath in and started: "Citizens of New Gotham…"

She felt wetter than wet, more water logged than she had ever been. Then again, cats always hated water.

Helena groaned softly as she opened her eyes. If this was hell, she sure wasn't impressed. Where were the flames? The little devils with horns and pitchforks? She wasn't suffering as much as she thought she should. One thing was for sure, they must have a lot of fish in this weird hell, it smelt really fishy.

Her head hit a stone and she opened her eyes wider, "Ow," she groaned softly. As her senses cleared she realized she was not dead, but still very much alive and hurting like hell, and that someone or something was dragging her through a tunnel. It dragged her by her leg, pulling her along with it over the slimy floor.

She lifted her head and looked down towards her legs at whatever it was. It was huge, well over 6 feet tall. It hunched as the tunnel wasn't big enough for it to stand up straight. Its skin was green and brown, a scaly. The hand that had her leg in a firm grip sported talon like claws. She tried to pull free and kick him, but she had no strength, she still felt disorientated.

_Talk about a freak-a-zoid,_ Helena thought.

Cris stood on the balcony quietly sipping her coffee, her mind mulling over the recent events.

A pair of hands slipped over each side of her hips, she was pulled softly back into Matthew's body, he held her tight.

"I was scared," he said softly in her ear, "Scared I might loose you."  
She turned around and looked into his eyes. She smiled.

"You wont loose me, I wont back down that easily," she kissed him on the chin and then buried her head in his chest. They stood there in silence, keeping each other close. Cris admitted she was scared too. She always got scared. Fate had an ugly side, it always seemed to strike where no one would have expected it. Cris couldn't help but feel each time she said good-bye to her loved ones and friends, that it would be the last. She had always been scared of never letting anyone know how much she appreciated them and then it being left unsaid when fate stepped in. She had learned that lesson, painfully long ago.

"Matthew…" she whispered.

"Hmmm?"

"I love you," she whispered even softly.

Matthew closed his eyes, "I love you too."

Someone behind them cleared their throat. Cris looked up and smiled, "Shaun!"

"Sorry to interrupt, I thought you might want to know the latest on the baby," he said slightly embarrassed.

She broke the embrace and walked up Shaun, "How's he doing?"

Matthew excused himself and walked back inside. Shaun sighed and leaned on the balcony, "He's doing fine, the doc says he's quite a feisty baby," he said smiling.

Cris chuckled.

"They got hold of the baby's father," he said, "He's on the way. They didn't tell him about the mother though."

"Uh oh, who's going to break the news?" Cris asked.

He closed his eyes and sighed, "They want one of us to tell him, since we were the last to be with her."

Cris stood quiet staring at an imaginary point on the horizon. Then she breathed in deep and said, "Oh boy."

"Yeah."

Barbara opened her eyes slowly, her face felt numb. Breathing in deep she lifted her head and looked groggily around. She had fallen asleep next to Dinah, with her head resting on her arms. She smiled slightly, _At least I didn't drool._

"Welcome back to waking world," a voice said behind her. She turned around and looked at Justin.

"How long have I been out?" she asked sheepishly.

"Not too long, I didn't want to wake you, you needed the nap," he said smiling, he took a sip of coffee, "How are you doing?"

Barbara knew exactly what he meant, but choose to not to acknowledge it, "I'm ok, still a little woozy from the meds."

"That's not what I mean," he said taking a seat next to her. She looked up at him surprised. She only met him that same day and already it felt like he knew her. There was something about him that made Barbara not want to elude, he made her want to break out, admit everything she felt, how scared she was for Dinah, how scared she was of losing the young girl.

"Scared," she finally answered.

Reese ran so fast through the tunnels, he ended up slipping arse over head a couple of times. Ignoring the pain in his back he carried on, following the marks in the sludge. Finally he saw a shadow move ahead, he quickened his pace and rounded the corner, spotting Killer Croc holding one of Helena's legs and dragging her down the tunnel.

"Let her go Waylon!" Reese shouted. He slid his hand slowly into his bag, looking for his gun, he found nothing.

Killer croc stopped and turned around. He had a smirk on his face, "What if I don't want to?"

"You'd be making a very serious mistake," Reese replied.

Killer Croc laugh, "Ohh I'm sacred," he bared his teeth and grinned menacingly at Reese.

"Well, you should be," came a voice below him. He looked down just in time to see Helena place a well aimed kick to his groin.

Cris breathed in deeply a then slowly breathed out, she didn't want to do this. She didn't know what to say.

She watched as a nurse guided him into a private room. Cris turned to look at Shaun and nodded. They both walked slowly into the room. They introduced themselves and then sat down. Shaun cleared his throat,

"Mr Torres, what I have to say is going to be hard to say, but, Cris and myself were with your wife during the delivery. Her ambulance was stuck under some rubble. We did all we could but, she didn't survive it."

Damien Torres stared blankly at Shaun.

Cris moved forward slightly, "Mr Torres," he turned his head slowly to face her, "The doctors tell us there was a complication during the delivery, an artery ruptured, causing internal bleeding."

He started shaking his head, "I shouldn't have left her alone, I shouldn't have gone to the store."

"Mr Torres, it's not your fault," Cris said placing a hand on his arm, "You couldn't have stopped it."

He looked up at her, "You did it, you killed her."

Cris frowned, "Wha…"

Damien stood up abruptly and pulled Cris up to him, he wrapped an arm around her throat and pointed a gun to her head, "YOU KILLED HER!"


	15. A Shocking Time

Waylon grunted as he dropped Helena's foot and covered his parts. It didn't hurt as much as it would to a normal man, but it still stung. Helena stood up and smirked. She moved in to kick him again, but he swatted her away, flinging her backwards, into Reese.

"Damn," she said as the rolled over each other, "Didn't expect that."

Reese's looked into Helena's slit eyes, "Barbara did say he was a tough guy… Helena look ou…"

Waylon grabbed Helena's neck from the back and picked her up, "Bad girl." Helena kicked in the air, struggling to free herself. Reese stood up and aimed a punch directly at Waylon's stomach. He cried out as he cradled his hand.

Waylon laughed, "Ha! You forgot my hide is strong!"

"Heh! You're even 'thicker' than I thought!" Helena snickered, still kicking the air.

Waylon frowned and then sneered. He threw Helena into a wall and pinned her against it, "Sweet talker huh?"

Helena grunted, a pain seared through her back, "Well they did warn us there wasn't much lights on up…" she punched him in the eye, "…there."

Waylon cried out and cradled his head, dropping Helena. She quickly stepped out of his way and stood next to Reese, "We need to find a way to bring him down."

Reese looked around and then up at her, "Stall him, I think I have an idea."

Helena raised an eyebrow and cocked her head sideways, she was about to say something when Waylon grabbed her again.

"Scared of what?" Justin asked, his eyes serious but soft.

Barbara looked away. Her eyes fell upon Dinah's face. She thought back to the nightmares she had when she lay in a coma a few months back.

flashback  
_"DINAH NO!" Barbara shouted as she said reaching out, as if she had possessed some telekinesis and tried to pull the knife out. Her wheelchair gave way under her and she fell to the floor. Ignoring the sudden pain her right shoulder she crawled up to Dinah. As she reached her she looked into the girl's eyes for some indication of life. Suddenly Dinah blinked. "Dinah! Oh please God! Dinah?" Barbara cried out softly.  
"Barbara?" Dinah breathed out, her voice barely audible. Her eyes slowly rolled to her right until they locked with Barbara's.  
"I'm here," Barbara said fighting off the tears. She saw that there was no hope for Dinah; the ever-present fire in the young girl's eyes had faded. Barbara was slowly loosing her foster child; the only loved one she had left in the world. She grabbed Dinah's bloodied hand and held it tight, "I'm here."_

Slowly she watched as the last sign of life slipped away and Dinah breathed out her last breath. Barbara's whole body shook as she slowly lowered her head and rested her forehead on Dinah's.

Barbara opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out, the pain was just too great. Her body quivered with every breath she took, she grabbed the fabric of Dinah's long sleeved vest and held it as tight as she could in a fist. end flashback

Barbara blinked, even though it was all just a really bad nightmare it still felt so real.

"Barbara?" Justin asked, she had fallen silent, her eyes looked distant.

Barbara blinked, "Sorry."

Cris swallowed down the fear that crept into her throat. She closed her eyes and concentrated entirely on the cold of the metal that dug into her temple. She imagined the bullet in the chamber, the hammer pulled back, ready to be released at the pull of the trigger. 

flashbackThe gold of the barrel flashed, as lightning tore through the sky, the thunder masked the first round Derrick fired. As the bullet tore through Cris's abdomen, Derrick pulled the trigger again. end flashback

Cris' eyes snapped open. Her heart had jumped a few beats faster. She struggled to stay sharp. She forced herself to concentrate on Damien.

"If it weren't for you it never would have happened! She needed someone who knew what they were doing!" He shouted, spittle flying from his lips. People outside the room had started running around, screaming.

Shaun who had chosen to stand at a safe but protective distance, held his hands up, "Whoa, wait, it would have happened even if she had paramedics with her, we had nothing to do with it!"

"Liar! You killed her, I know you! You and your wife! You don't remember me do you?"

Shaun frowned as he took a hard look at Damien. Suddenly anger flickered in his eyes, "The truck driver."

Reese frowned as he hastily searched the bag. Helena and Waylon fought behind him, from the hissing sounds, he got the feeling he didn't have much time.

"You're really making me angry little girl," Waylon said as he swatted Helena away. She tumbled past Reese. Lifting herself up, wincing from the pain in her back, she glared at Reese, "You better hurry, or I'm gonna make him swat you around like a bug."

"Not too long, just give me a few more seconds!" Reese replied pulling out rope from a bag, _Damn Oracle, I could kiss you right now! _

Helena rolled her eyes and jumped up, rushing towards Waylon. Leaping in the air she wrapped her legs around his neck. She spun around, trying to disorientate him enough for him to stumble. He grunted and reached over her, grabbing her by her arms and flung her over. She crashed into a wall upside down, and slid down, banging her head on the floor, _Ow! I guess now I know what it feels like being thrown into a wall_, she thought.

Reese winced, _she's gonna bitch about that one for a long time._ He dug in the bag once again and felt the cold metal of something. Thinking he had found what he was looking for he pulled it out, only to see his prize was a bird-a-rang. _Better than nothing_ he said to himself shrugging, _I just wish Oracle had finished teaching me how to throw these things._

He stood up and moved to phase 2 of his plan. Looking around he spotted a rusty pipe running 2 inches parallel to the ground. He rushed to it and kicked it off the wall breaking it in two, he did the same a few feet forward, until he got hold of a throw able pipe.

Meanwhile Helena was in a sticky situation. Waylon had her in a death hug. Grinning he squeezed her tight. Wincing Helena groaned as she felt the pressure against her body. She struggled to free her hands. "Buh bye girlie," Waylon said as he squeezed tighter. Crying out Helena pulled her arms out.

"My grandma," She breathed out, "What huge ears you have!" She cupped her hands and slammed them against his ears. Waylon screamed as he shielded his ears. Blood pouring from them.

Reese aimed at the electrical cabling that ran along the ceiling; pulling back he silently prayed he'd get it right. With all his strength he threw the bird-a-rang, and then ducked.

Helena fell to one knee as she tried to regain her composure. She heard a whirring noise and looked up to see a bird-a-rang head straight towards her. She ducked just in time. It ricocheted off the wall next to her and embedded itself into a pipe further down.

Reese flinched _Oh yes, I'm in deep now,_ he thought. Looking up, he almost shouted with joy, the cabling was cut through exposing live wires. He picked up the pipe he had acquired and wrapped rope around the middle, forming a handle of sorts. Then, carefully, he pulled enough cabling out for what he needed. Wrapping the bag he had slung over his shoulder around the pole, he carefully inserted the cabling into the pipe, enough to charge the pipe and keep the cabling in.

Suddenly he realized, he'd been holding his breath. Breathing out he looked up at Helena, "I'd get out of…"

Helena didn't hear him complete his sentence, she noticed Waylon had recovered and swung his razor sharp claws at her. They tore into her back, screaming Helena sagged to the floor.

"Helena!" Reese shouted. Acting blindly he grabbed the pole by the rope handle and flung it at Waylon. Because of the weight of the cabling the make shift tazer pole veered downwards, but it was enough to impale Waylon's leg. Reese watched as Waylon jerked around as the current surged through his body.

Reese plucked the bird-a-rang from the pipe and cut the cable again killing the current, he'd intended only to stun Waylon enough to knock him out. Waylon sagged to one knee, his breathing heavy. He turned to face Reese, he growled and struck out, punching Reese in his stomach. Reese was flung back by the electrical shock and landed on the ground unconscious. Waylon chuckled, then his eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground.

Waylon grunted as he dropped Helena's foot and covered his parts. It didn't hurt as much as it would to a normal man, but it still stung. Helena stood up and smirked. She moved in to kick him again, but he swatted her away, flinging her backwards, into Reese.

"Damn," she said as the rolled over each other, "Didn't expect that."

Reese's looked into Helena's slit eyes, "Barbara did say he was a tough guy… Helena look ou…"

Waylon grabbed Helena's neck from the back and picked her up, "Bad girl." Helena kicked in the air, struggling to free herself. Reese stood up and aimed a punch directly at Waylon's stomach. He cried out as he cradled his hand.

Waylon laughed, "Ha! You forgot my hide is strong!"

"Heh! You're even 'thicker' than I thought!" Helena snickered, still kicking the air.

Waylon frowned and then sneered. He threw Helena into a wall and pinned her against it, "Sweet talker huh?"

Helena grunted, a pain seared through her back, "Well they did warn us there wasn't much lights on up…" she punched him in the eye, "…there."

Waylon cried out and cradled his head, dropping Helena. She quickly stepped out of his way and stood next to Reese, "We need to find a way to bring him down."

Reese looked around and then up at her, "Stall him, I think I have an idea."

Helena raised an eyebrow and cocked her head sideways, she was about to say something when Waylon grabbed her again.

"Scared of what?" Justin asked, his eyes serious but soft.

Barbara looked away. Her eyes fell upon Dinah's face. She thought back to the nightmares she had when she lay in a coma a few months back.

_"DINAH NO!" Barbara shouted as she said reaching out, as if she had possessed some telekinesis and tried to pull the knife out. Her wheelchair gave way under her and she fell to the floor. Ignoring the sudden pain her right shoulder she crawled up to Dinah. As she reached her she looked into the girl's eyes for some indication of life. Suddenly Dinah blinked. "Dinah! Oh please God! Dinah?" Barbara cried out softly.  
"Barbara?" Dinah breathed out, her voice barely audible. Her eyes slowly rolled to her right until they locked with Barbara's.  
"I'm here," Barbara said fighting off the tears. She saw that there was no hope for Dinah; the ever-present fire in the young girl's eyes had faded. Barbara was slowly loosing her foster child; the only loved one she had left in the world. She grabbed Dinah's bloodied hand and held it tight, "I'm here."_

Slowly she watched as the last sign of life slipped away and Dinah breathed out her last breath. Barbara's whole body shook as she slowly lowered her head and rested her forehead on Dinah's.

Barbara opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out, the pain was just too great. Her body quivered with every breath she took, she grabbed the fabric of Dinah's long sleeved vest and held it as tight as she could in a fist. 

Barbara blinked, even though it was all just a really bad nightmare it still felt so real.

"Barbara?" Justin asked, she had fallen silent, her eyes looked distant.

Barbara blinked, "Sorry."

Cris swallowed down the fear that crept into her throat. She closed her eyes and concentrated entirely on the cold of the metal that dug into her temple. She imagined the bullet in the chamber, the hammer pulled back, ready to be released at the pull of the trigger.

The gold of the barrel flashed, as lightning tore through the sky, the thunder masked the first round Derrick fired. As the bullet tore through Cris's abdomen, Derrick pulled the trigger again.

Cris' eyes snapped open. Her heart had jumped a few beats faster. She struggled to stay sharp. She forced herself to concentrate on Damien.

"If it weren't for you it never would have happened! She needed someone who knew what they were doing!" He shouted, spittle flying from his lips. People outside the room had started running around, screaming.

Shaun who had chosen to stand at a safe but protective distance, held his hands up, "Whoa, wait, it would have happened even if she had paramedics with her, we had nothing to do with it!"

"Liar! You killed her, I know you! You and your wife! You don't remember me do you?"

Shaun frowned as he took a hard look at Damien. Suddenly anger flickered in his eyes, "The truck driver."

Reese frowned as he hastily searched the bag. Helena and Waylon fought behind him, from the hissing sounds, he got the feeling he didn't have much time.

"You're really making me angry little girl," Waylon said as he swatted Helena away. She tumbled past Reese. Lifting herself up, wincing from the pain in her back, she glared at Reese, "You better hurry, or I'm gonna make him swat you around like a bug."

"Not too long, just give me a few more seconds!" Reese replied pulling out rope from a bag, _Damn Oracle, I could kiss you right now! _

Helena rolled her eyes and jumped up, rushing towards Waylon. Leaping in the air she wrapped her legs around his neck. She spun around, trying to disorientate him enough for him to stumble. He grunted and reached over her, grabbing her by her arms and flung her over. She crashed into a wall upside down, and slid down, banging her head on the floor, _Ow! I guess now I know what it feels like being thrown into a wall_, she thought.

Reese winced, _she's gonna bitch about that one for a long time._ He dug in the bag once again and felt the cold metal of something. Thinking he had found what he was looking for he pulled it out, only to see his prize was a bird-a-rang. _Better than nothing_ he said to himself shrugging, _I just wish Oracle had finished teaching me how to throw these things._

He stood up and moved to phase 2 of his plan. Looking around he spotted a rusty pipe running 2 inches parallel to the ground. He rushed to it and kicked it off the wall breaking it in two, he did the same a few feet forward, until he got hold of a throw able pipe.

Meanwhile Helena was in a sticky situation. Waylon had her in a death hug. Grinning he squeezed her tight. Wincing Helena groaned as she felt the pressure against her body. She struggled to free her hands. "Buh bye girlie," Waylon said as he squeezed tighter. Crying out Helena pulled her arms out.

"My grandma," She breathed out, "What huge ears you have!" She cupped her hands and slammed them against his ears. Waylon screamed as he shielded his ears. Blood pouring from them.

Reese aimed at the electrical cabling that ran along the ceiling; pulling back he silently prayed he'd get it right. With all his strength he threw the bird-a-rang, and then ducked.

Helena fell to one knee as she tried to regain her composure. She heard a whirring noise and looked up to see a bird-a-rang head straight towards her. She ducked just in time. It ricocheted off the wall next to her and embedded itself into a pipe further down.

Reese flinched _Oh yes, I'm in deep now,_ he thought. Looking up, he almost shouted with joy, the cabling was cut through exposing live wires. He picked up the pipe he had acquired and wrapped rope around the middle, forming a handle of sorts. Then, carefully, he pulled enough cabling out for what he needed. Wrapping the bag he had slung over his shoulder around the pole, he carefully inserted the cabling into the pipe, enough to charge the pipe and keep the cabling in.

Suddenly he realized, he'd been holding his breath. Breathing out he looked up at Helena, "I'd get out of…"

Helena didn't hear him complete his sentence, she noticed Waylon had recovered and swung his razor sharp claws at her. They tore into her back, screaming Helena sagged to the floor.

"Helena!" Reese shouted. Acting blindly he grabbed the pole by the rope handle and flung it at Waylon. Because of the weight of the cabling the make shift tazer pole veered downwards, but it was enough to impale Waylon's leg. Reese watched as Waylon jerked around as the current surged through his body.

Reese plucked the bird-a-rang from the pipe and cut the cable again killing the current, he'd intended only to stun Waylon enough to knock him out. Waylon sagged to one knee, his breathing heavy. He turned to face Reese, he growled and struck out, punching Reese in his stomach. Reese was flung back by the electrical shock and landed on the ground unconscious. Waylon chuckled, then his eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground.


	16. Waking Moments

Greetings,

Well yeah you saw right! This is the last chapter of my story "Quake", while i did takea little long to finish, i tried to do justice to it and i hope i did justice to it's readers.

It has come to my attention, though i do admit i'm not entirely clued up on earthquakes, that some of my facts in the story might be false. Here is what my thought trend was.

In my theory, tectonic plates were deisned to buffer the brunt of an earthquake. Look at it if you will as two books and marbles inbetween them. The books represent the plates, the marbles are what help buffer the **quake**. Now place them on your hand and move your hand roughly forward and backward. While the book above stays almost still the book at the bottom is moving about, as such in a **quake**. 

In "Quake" my theory was that the plates buffered most of the **quake**, so take the effect 10.2. Now i deducted before that the plates buffered up to 8. 10.2 - 8 2.2. So in fact what the birds and everyone else felt in the story was 2.2 and not 10.2.

As for the collapsing of the buildings, it is explained more in the chapter. If you still disagree please feel free to pm me.

Ok, i'd like to thank a few people for their help in the past chapters, although everyone helped in one way or another the main culprits are: Sam, Yank, Night (yeah i know, shooting the condition down sucked) Shadowpup and Kad. BUT! a big special thanks and hug to Jag, thanks buddy!

sniff sorry getting emotional here.

OK you may wake up now, and enjoy the chapter!

Waking Moments

The gun shot had alerted both Barbara and Justin. Looking at Dinah and hesitating a moment, Barbara switched to Oracle mode and slipped out into the corridor to investigate, followed shortly by Justin.

A crowd had gathered outside a waiting room. Wheeling through the crowd, Barbara came upon the glass windows that enclosed the room. In a second Barbara took in the gruesome scene. Cris stood staring at the bloody wall, her face pale. A man was kneeling on the floor also staring at the bloody wall. Barbara asked in a soft tone, "What happened?"

A chubby man next to her, mopped his forehead with a napkin and said, "He blew his brains out," then moved away.

Barbara's jaw dropped as she turned to look at her friend who stood looking at the bloodied wall with distant eyes. Barbara knew what Cris was seeing, and it wasn't a man who blew his head apart in a waiting room. Adding already to the exhaustion she was begiing to feel, Barbara's heart went out to her. The nurse tried to urge Cris out, but she stood like a statue, her eyes drawing in the blood and brain matter. Barbara signaled the nurse, mouthing, "I'll try." The nurse nodded and left Cris.

"It was her, all over again," Cris mumbled, as Barbara approached her.

"I know," Barbara replied.

Cris kept her eyes on Damien's still form. Barbara tugged at her arm slightly, "C'mon."

Cris looked at her and then nodded.

The pain woke her up. Helena stifled a moan as she tried to move. Apart from the stinging pain on her back, she felt like she had aged sixty years. Every muscle protested at the slightest movement. _Note to self, next time you fight an oversized Croc-man, tease him with a chunk of meat doctored with tranquilizers,_ she thought opening her eyes, _and, never wear a thong if you know you're gonna take a waterslide through the sewers._

A shadow fell over her. She tried to focus her eyes on the figure who stood over her, but she was just too damn tired. The figure bent down and a pair of arms slid underneath her. She felt her body lift from the ground, wincing, she mustered enough energy to swing a fist at the figure.

"Whoa! Easy," a baritone voice said calmly, ducking from the blow, "I'm not here to hurt you."

Helena dropped her arm and slipped back into unconsciousness.

Barbara sighed as she leaned her head backwards and against the wall, she closed her eyes. Never would she have though that she'd feel so tired in just one day. Then again, she had been through so much in just one day. Dinah in a coma, with possible brain damage, even though Dr. Thompkin's assured Dinah had only 20 chance of damage, it was still a scary thought. Seeing her friend, Cris, stinging from an old wound she had tried hard over the years to heal. Then, when Cla… Superman arrived at the hospital with Helena in his arms, her blood staining his shield, Barbara began to feel the numbness of fear.

Now she waited outside of a surgery room, waiting for news on Helena's condition. She felt someone sit next to her and sigh.

"How is he?" Barbara asked, keeping her eyes closed.

"The doctor said he'll be fine, it was just a mild shock," Cris replied, her voice soft but haggard, "Helena?"

"Still waiting."

"Ah."

They fell silent, soaking the various sounds in the corridor. The hospital was still very much packed. With injured still vacating the corridors. But in the private wards it was a little more silent. Soft murmers mainly floated down the corridor.

"How are you?" Cris asked suddenly.

Barbara opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, "Tired."

Cris nodded, "I think we're in definite need of coffee, I'll be right back."

Barbara smiled, "That would be great," then closed her eyes again.

"Barbara?"

She felt someone shake her softly, "Barbara?"

She opened her eyes, lowering her head, "Dr Thompkins?"

The elderly woman smiled, her eyes sparkling with compassion, "Helena's going to be alright, she has sustained multiple injuries, mostly to her back. Given her healing ability, she'll be as good as new in 2 weeks, but I warn you, she's allowed minimal movement for the first week."

"Do you know what you're asking doctor?" Barbara asked, groaning inwardly.

"I know, the moon and the stars, but if she's to heal properly…"

Barbara smiled, "I know,"

Lee smiled, "You can see her now."

"Thank you."

Barbara wheeled slowly in, looking up she smiled, "Hey."

Helena looked glumly up, "Hey."

"I suppose Dr Thompkins gave you the news," Barbara said more to herself.

Helena snorted. She shuffled in the bed a little, wincing at the pain.  
"How is she?" she asked.

Barbara looked down at her hands, "Dr Thompkins examined her. It's a 50-50 chance."

"Doesn't help much," Helena mumbled.

"No it doesn't," Barbara agreed.

"Reese?" Helena asked, her voice hinting deep concern.

"He's ok, Cris checked in on him, he just had a mild shock," the red head replied looking up at Helena.

Helena nodded and then leaned back, closing her eyes.

Early morning rays crept through the blinds, falling softly on Barbara's face. It ignited her red hair casting a soft fiery hue on the bedspread. Dinah stirred and opened her eyes. Everything first seemed blurry and out of focus. Blinking a few times, she saw Barbara sleeping on the side of her bed. Smiling she pushed a lock of hair, that had fallen over Barbara's nose, away.

Barbara woke with a start, her emerald green eyes snapping open, staring right at Dinah.

"Dinah?" Barbara asked.

Dinah smiled, "Good morning."

"Dinah!" Barbara moved forward and pulled the youngster into a hug. Barbara clung to her hard, trying to fight back the tears of joy.

Outside the window a pigeon flaps it's wings and lands on the ledge, peering in curiously while cooing.

_One week later…_

"… Greenpeace leader Scott Wearaleaf was unavailable for comment. Back to local news, Fabian LeChic, the architect found to have used low grade cement in the reconstruction of Gotham City, was found dead in a Texas motel. Fabian, 32, had been on the run ever since the earthquake that measured 10.5 on the richter scale hit New Gotham city, midday on the 12th of August. After a through investigation it was found that the cement he had used to build his structures was of the lowest grade, thus causing the collapse of numerous buildings and bridges around the city…"

A overweight man in his forties appears on the television screen, "If Mr LeChic had not used this cement and opted for the cement that city construction officials had set as a standard, most of, if not all the buildings that had collapsed, would still be standing…"

The news presenter appears on the screen again, "… Texas PD was alerted late yesterday night to a stench permeating from a motel room. Reacting to the call, officers discovered LeChic's body in a bathtub filled with water, and his wrists slit. There was no suicide note…"

The screen went blank.

Helena sighed, "This sucks."

Dinah chimed with agreement, "Yeah, how long does it take to get DVDs?"

"If you hadn't kept calling me and changing your mind I'd have been here a lot sooner," Cris replied approaching them with a bag filled with DVDs.

"Yes!" Dinah squealed, "Ok, DVDs, check, popcorn?"

"Check," Barbara shouted from the kitchen and then wheeled out with a huge bowl of popcorn on her lap, "coke?"

"Check," replied Cris, then she glared at Helena, "no burping during Nightmare on Elm Street, or I'm gonna make you immobile for a little while longer." 

Helena raises an eyebrow, "Try me."

Cris pulls a tounge at her and settles down.

From the kitchen Alfred looks on to the four and smiles.

The End

Theme Song:

Jewel - Hands

Especially:

_If I could tell the world just one thing  
It would be that we're all OK  
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful  
And useless in times like these  
I won't be made useless  
I won't be idle with despair  
I will gather myself around my faith  
For light does the darkness most fear_


End file.
